Young farmer from Glenn County wins statewide discussion meet

» December 4, 2007 «

Discussion of the need for new water development helped a young farmer from Glenn County earn top honors in the annual Young Farmers & Ranchers Discussion Meet, held at the California Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in Sparks, Nev.

Discussion Meet winner Shannon Douglass with Young Farmers and Ranchers Chairman John Greber Jr.
Download JPG (2.3 MB)

Shannon Douglass won a competition among 11 contestants from around the state. Participants discuss pre-determined topics and are judged on their ability to exchange ideas and information, think logically and solve problems cooperatively. Douglass, of Orland, ranches with her husband and works as outreach and retention coordinator for the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico.

During the last round of the contest with three other finalists, Douglass spoke of the importance of increasing surface water storage.

"We need increased water storage throughout California," Douglass said. "We're going to need to build new infrastructure and we are going to need to deal with conservation."

Justin Oldfield of Sacramento County earned first runner-up honors. Brandon Fawaz of Siskiyou County was second runner-up and Molly Fagundes of Merced County was third runner-up.

As winner, Douglass receives a Dodge pickup truck and $500 from Dodge, plus $1,000 from the California Farm Bureau; $1,000 from Bank of America; $1,000 from California Farm Credit Association; $500 from Allied Insurance and $400 from State Compensation Insurance Fund. She will represent California in the national Discussion Meet, which will be held next month at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

The finals of the separate Collegiate Discussion Meet focused on the role of U.S. agriculture in responding to global issues that include trade, climate change and the threat of agricultural terrorism.

Collegiate Discussion Meet winner Grace Berryhill with Young Farmers and Ranchers Chairman John Greber Jr.
Download JPG (2.8 MB)

A CSU Chico student, Grace Berryhill of Tulare, earned first prize in the competition and won $500 from the California Farm Bureau.

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, student Tommy Bottoms of San Joaquin County was named first runner-up in the competition; Fresno State University student Joel Sandana Jr. of Fresno County was second runner-up; and Cal Poly student Ian Nachriener of Riverside County was third runner-up.

CSU Chico also won the collegiate team competition.

The California Farm Bureau Federation, the state's largest farm organization, works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of 91,000 members statewide. The Young Farmers and Ranchers program encourages members aged 18 to 35 to be active leaders in agriculture.

Contact: Dave Kranz
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item.